Carmen Best for press and producersFor journalists and producers.
Clear, on the record, and she has run the thing you are asking about. NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC and KING 5 have had her on. Available now for commentary, interviews, panels, and a regular analyst chair. Deadline requests get answered first.
Seen on
Worked for, served with, spoken for
- Vantage
- Seattle Police Department
- United Way of King County
- IACP
Covered by
- The Seattle Times
- Bloomberg
- GeekWire
Watch
Three clips.
Her 2021 analysis of the Chauvin trial, the 2020 resignation press conference, and the full 2026 conversation on You’re Allowed*.
KING 5, 2021
Resignation press conference, 2020
You’re Allowed*, May 2026, 29 min
Topics
What she can speak to.
- Policing, public safety, and what reform looks like from the chief’s chair
- Leadership and accountability in public institutions
- Recruiting and keeping a diverse workforce, and what undoes it
- Crisis leadership and rebuilding public trust
- Where public agencies, technology, and corporate security meet
Short bio
Carmen Best is a keynote speaker, law enforcement analyst and an associate consultant with 21CP Solutions. She is the former Chief of Police of Seattle, the first Black woman to lead the department, and the author of Black in Blue (HarperCollins Leadership, 2021). A 28-year veteran of the department, she has appeared on NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC and KING 5.
Medium bio
Carmen Best joined the Seattle Police Department in 1992 and rose through every rank to become its Chief in 2018, the first Black woman to hold the job. In August 2020 she resigned rather than carry out budget cuts that, under seniority rules, would have fallen on the 108 officers she hired in 2019, about 40% of them people of color. She is the author of Black in Blue (HarperCollins Leadership, 2021), has been a law enforcement analyst for KING 5 and a contributor on MSNBC, has appeared on NBC News and CNBC, and was Microsoft’s Director of Global Security Risk Operations, a role she took in 2022 and has since left. Today she is an associate consultant with 21CP Solutions, a law enforcement analyst, and a keynote speaker on leading when everyone is watching. Her honors include the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and the National Law Enforcement Ethics Award.
Board bio
Carmen Best spent 28 years in the Seattle Police Department, the last two years and eight months as Chief of Police, and led the department through 2020. She has served on boards and advisory councils including the UNCF Leadership Council (past Chair, Seattle), United Way of King County, YWCA King County, the St. Jude Advisory Council in Seattle, the Seattle University Criminal Justice Advisory Committee and the IACP Human and Civil Rights Committee. After the department she was Microsoft’s Director of Global Security Risk Operations, leading global efforts to detect, assess and respond to physical security threats; today she is an associate consultant with 21CP Solutions and a member of the International Women’s Forum. She holds an M.S. in Criminal Justice from Northeastern University and is open to board, advisory and senior operating roles in public safety, security and workforce.
Headshots and files
Studio headshot, book portrait, cover art and a one-sheet PDF, all downloadable on the press kit page. Deadline requests are answered first; everything else within two business days.